So I had eight out of ten in the top ten, had Columbo in the right rank, had the Fonz and Homer in the right order, and had the top three but in the wrong order.
I can see the argument for putting Archie first, because the show was so groundbreaking. On the other hand, considering “I Love Lucy” essentially invented the format now used for filming sitcoms, had Lucy married to her real life husband over the strenuous objections of the network executives (who wanted a different actor), and featured the first pregnancy and delivery on sitcoms, I think we’ve come to take for granted just how groundbreaking “I Love Lucy” was. And the Honeymooners was…what? Forty nine episodes? It’s a sprinter versus a marathon runner. So I still think my top three was better.
However, let us consider something…
Greatest character of all time was an unrelenting bigot. Greatest character number two was a perpetual loser who constantly threatened to beat his wife. Number three had no job and lived only to try and horn in on her husband’s career.
If you tried to bring any of these characters to life now? Wouldn’t even get a pick up for a script. The fact that the characters had immense shadings and were lovable at the core wouldn’t enter into it. Especially Archie. An unrelenting bigot on a comedy using the language he does? On a drama, yes (see: Sipowitz). But a sitcom? uh uh.
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